


let's talk about love

by bluebot



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Light Angst, M/M, Misunderstandings, Texting, insecure!jungwoo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2019-05-16 22:53:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14820470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluebot/pseuds/bluebot
Summary: It starts when Lucas calls Jungwoo up to lament about his love life.“I asked Mark to prom, but I think he thought I was asking him as a friend.”It escalates when Jungwoo involves himself and, in trying to unravel a messy situation, only complicates it further.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> okay this whole fic is actually already written out and edited so... watch out ya girl will actually be completing a wip

“I asked Mark to prom, but I think he thought I was asking him as a friend,” Lucas sounded put out, over the phone. 

Jungwoo was sure if he’d been there, Lucas would be wearing his perplexed expression, the one he wore when he stared at the microwave waiting for his hot pocket to be done only to realize he’d just set the timer and not the actual cook time. Jungwoo had seen that look a few too many times. 

Jungwoo sighed, set down the shirt he’d been attempting to fold, and switched his phone off speaker. Lucas needed his undivided attention.

“What makes you think that? And did he say yes, at least?”

Maybe if Mark said yes, Jungwoo could focus on that and cheer Lucas up.

“He did say yes!” Lucas brightened, briefly. Then, “After I handed him the daisies he said ‘thanks, bro.’”

Jungwoo hissed in commiseration. That wasn’t very promising. But, perhaps ‘bro’ was just the sort of pet name boys like Mark and Lucas used for their potential romantic partner.

“That’s not all!” Lucas's voice cracked and Jungwoo involuntary raised a hand to his heart. Poor Lucas, his emotions straining his throat like that.

“What else happened?” Jungwoo prompted.

“He said… dude, he said it was great I’d asked because  _ now  _ he doesn’t have to find a  _ date _ .” 

Lucas injected fake cheer into his tone, but Jungwoo was so used to hearing him sincerely joyed. He could tell his fake happiness apart from the sincere kind in a heartbeat.

“Oh, Lucas,” was all Jungwoo could say. He felt awful for it, being unable to sufficiently comfort his friend, “maybe he just didn’t get that you were asking him like that?”

Lucas didn’t reply instantly. In the beat of silence following Jungwoo’s paltry efforts, he heard the faint sound of a door closing on Lucas's side. A soft ‘whump’ and a huff of breath from Lucas in his ear. Maybe Lucas had sat down forcefully. Or, more likely, Lucas had fallen backwards onto his bed. His voice sounded different, when he spoke, like it was stretched and thin.

“I gave him flowers. Chocolate. I made a poster, man.”

Jungwoo walked over the kitchen and flicked on the electric tea kettle. He had a feeling he’d need some chamomile after this phone call was over. It seemed unlikely anyone could miss the romanticism of flowers and chocolates but, then again, this was Mark.

 

As his chamomile steeped, Jungwoo patiently comforted Lucas. After he’d fully convinced Lucas that Mark was just oblivious, Jungwoo immediately took to Instagram. He’d sort this out for Lucas, he decided. A few minutes of stalking Mark’s profile revealed he was always pictured with some mix of a group of six other boys, if he wasn’t taking a selfie with Lucas or a blurry shot of the horizon. 

One boy was featured more prominently than the rest of the six. In the most recent pictures he had light brown hair, but in the older ones it was a faded orange. Jungwoo vaguely remembered him from his senior year of high school. He didn’t remember his name, just that he’d always seemed to hang around Mark. 

Jungwoo clicked on the boy’s profile and typed out a DM, hoping desperately he wasn’t coming off a complete stalker. He was a stalker, of course, but he hoped he wasn’t coming off that way.

 

_ Hi, my name’s Jungwoo! I’m a friend of Lucas's! ^^ I was just wondering if I could ask you a few questions about Mark…. _

 

Jungwoo waited anxiously for the reply, doubt mounting as the minutes spent in wait eclipsed. He shot off a few cute dog pictures to Lucas in the meantime, and was gratified at the smiley faces Lucas sent back. Lucas could never resist pictures of puppies. 

Then, Jungwoo got the alert he’d been waiting for. One Instagram DM from  _ @leedh _ . Heartrate spiking, Jungwoo opened it.

 

_ alright, “Jungwoo”, if that’s even your name…. _

 

Jungwoo paused in the midst of reading the reply and made a face. Was the combative tone really necessary? Mark’s friend seemed nothing like him, as kind and conciliatory as Jungwoo remembered Mark being. Jungwoo shook his head at himself-- the boy had a right to be suspicious of a random account coming forward claiming to be Lucas's friend, he supposed. He read on.

 

_ alright, “Jungwoo”, if that’s even your name, i’ll answer your questions. i’ve got a few conditions first though.  _

  1. _tell me why the fuck lucas asked mark to prom out of nowhere_
  2. _tell me if lucas likes mark or something_
  3. _tell mark and lucas nothing of this conversation_



_ thanks. _

 

Jungwoo choked on his chamomile. He stared, transfixed, at his phone screen. He was struck by the contrast between the smiling face of the boy’s profile picture, kind if a little bland, and the content of the reply he’d received from him. Jungwoo set his mug down, the tea within rocking up in little waves from his shaking hands, and composed a response.

 

_ Umm okay that works for me! :) can you give me your number so we don’t have to talk over dms anymore? _

 

seconds later, before he’d even navigated away from the DM screen, came the reply

 

_ ‘kay here you go xxx-xxx-xxxx _

_ we should like… meet up or something. talk face to face. _

 

Jungwoo shivered. A meet up would be ideal, but he didn’t feel like getting his face pummeled in. And this boy seemed feisty enough to try it. Then, amidst the fear setting in, he recalled Lucas's thin voice. Lucas's faux cheer and his uncharacteristically poor mood. 

Jungwoo had to get to the bottom of this, for Lucas. He saved the number under a contact with the boy’s name and a scary angry face emoticon. 

 

_ to: Lee Donghyuck _

_ hi again! it’s jungwoo _

 

_ i actually go to college downtown  _

_ so if we could meet downtown somewhere  _

_ that’d be really great :)) _

  
  


_ from: Lee Donghyuck _

_ oh it’s you _

 

_ yeah that works _

 

_ i can meet you on campus tbh?  _

_ but you better be ready to buy  _

_ me a coffee for my troubles _

 

Lucas, Jungwoo reminded himself. You’re doing this for Lucas. If he told himself that, he could suffer any teenager, no matter how rude and feisty.

 

_ to: Lee Donghyuck _

_ of course! there’s a cafe right by the library _

_ i can get you something there _

 

✥ ✥ ✥

 

Lee Donghyuck was nothing like Jungwoo had expected. Meaning, when Jungwoo stood up to greet the boy, he realized with a jolt like an electric shock that Donghyuck was about a head shorter than Jungwoo. He’d seemed so much bigger online. 

His shoulders slumped forward, and the hoodie he was wearing swallowed him up. The hood was up, casting his face in shadows. The stormy expression underneath the hood was the only hint of the feisty boy Jungwoo had encountered on instagram.

“Mark’s creepy stalker?” Donghyuck accused, more than asked, as he levelled a look up at Jungwoo. 

Jungwoo winced. Donghyuck’s moniker for him was somewhat earned, he supposed.

“I’d prefer you call me Jungwoo.”

Donghyuck sniffed and shifted from foot to foot. After an awkward spell of prolonged eye contact, he averted his gaze.

“Whatever,” Donghyuck slunk away, in the direction of the cashier. Jungwoo followed in his wake after a moment’s deliberation. 

When he caught up to Donghyuck at the counter, Jungwoo cleared his throat,

“So, uh, I take it from the conditions you sent that you and Luc--.”

“Yeah, can I get a vanilla bean frap, please?” Donghyuck cut him off. 

Jungwoo was taken aback at the sudden shift in his face as he switched from speaking with Jungwoo to speaking with the barista. The grin he directed the barista’s way was wide and easy. Donghyuck looked so much brighter; his smile seemed even to have diminished the shadows his hood cast over his face. 

The barista nodded as passed a cup with the order written on it to the employee working the frappuccino machine. She was smiling widely back at Donghyuck and it looked, for all intents and purposes, to be a completely genuine smile. Jungwoo sighed. If only she knew.

“Fantastic! Thank you,” Donghyuck slid aside and nodded at Jungwoo, “he’s paying.”

 

Once they were seated, Donghyuck with his hood thrown back and already a third of the way into his frapp, Jungwoo felt it was safe to try his question again.

“So. You and Lucas…,” he trailed off, Donghyuck’s intense gaze making him feel he’d trip on his words if he’d continued to speak.

“Me and Lucas?” Donghyuck prompted, the bit of annoyance that had receded when he’d received his coffee making a comeback.

Jungwoo’s shoulders inched up with his rising unease, “You seem like you aren’t very fond of him?” 

Maintaining eye contact with Jungwoo, Donghyuck lifted his cup and took a long, noisy sip of his frappuccino. Jungwoo blinked. He supposed Donghyuck’s non-response was as much an answer as a simple ‘yes’ would have been. 

But Jungwoo couldn’t quite fathom Donghyuck not liking Lucas. Who wouldn’t like Lucas? He was so bright and charming. Donghyuck had to be the only person to have met him and not immediately fallen under his spell.

“Okay. Uh.” 

Jungwoo was at a bit of a loss at how to continue. He could jump straight in and ask if Mark knew Lucas had asked him out to prom as a romantic date, but Jungwoo wanted to maintain some semblance of tact.

“So is Lucas like… _ into _ Mark?” Donghyuck blurted out. 

He pressed his lips together in the wake of his outburst, as if he hadn’t meant to say that aloud at all. The rising blush on Donghyuck’s cheeks was unmissable with his hood pushed back. His pinked cheeks softened him, and suddenly Jungwoo was reminded that this kid was just that-- a kid. 

Maybe he was acting so brash and rude out of concern for Mark. Maybe he was just worried for his friend who might have been about to embark on a new romantic relationship.

Jungwoo answered Donghyuck’s question with another question.

“Does Mark like Lucas?”

Donghyuck’s blush deepened to a ruddy red. He leaned back in his chair, and Jungwoo moved forward unconsciously, following him. 

“I… don’t know,” Donghyuck said, soft and bitter, like it’d been ripped from him. 

Jungwoo mentally struck out his previous tentative theory for Donghyuck’s petulance. If he didn’t know if Mark even liked Lucas back, it didn’t make sense for him to be concerned that Mark was about to get a boyfriend. 

Jungwoo felt he wasn’t getting anywhere. If anything, he was just accruing more questions, and was nowhere nearer to any answer. 

“Did Mark really think Lucas brought him chocolate and flowers platonically?” 

In his frustration, Jungwoo asked exactly what was on his mind. In fact, it was what had been on his mind since Lucas called him in the midst of laundry day. Jungwoo had no time to regret his frustrated question, he only stared at Donghyuck, determined to know the answer.

Donghyuck stared back at him, for the span of a couple of pounding heartbeats. Then, strangely, he laughed.

When Donghyuck laughed, he used his whole body. He curled inward, wrapping his arms around his waist, and guffawed. When Donghyuck finally straightened, he swiped at his eyes with the sleeves of his hoodie, as if he’d been crying actual tears. Jungwoo watched in increasing concern.

“Oh my god, he totally did. He totally thinks Lucas asked him to prom, like, as bros. It’s fucking hilarious.”

Jungwoo frowned. His view of Mark, at least, wasn’t unfounded. Mark was just hopelessly oblivious after all, not needlessly cruel or awkward in not rejecting Lucas straight up. But Jungwoo’s view of Donghyuck kept worsening.

“If you knew Lucas didn’t ask Mark to prom as a friend, why didn’t you tell him?”

Donghyuck was silent once again. Jungwoo caught subtle movement out of the corner of his eye-- Donghyuck’s finger was twitching. He flicked the beads of condensation from the logo of his frappuccino cup, continuously, repeatedly. A nervous tic, maybe. Then it hit Jungwoo. 

Maybe there was a reason why Donghyuck didn’t like Lucas, why he hadn’t informed Mark of Lucas's intentions, why he’d laughed at Mark’s obliviousness in regards to the promposal. Maybe he was jealous. 

“Donghyuck, do you like Mark?”

Donghyuck’s hand stilled.

“No?”

He wasn’t looking at Jungwoo, though. Donghyuck’s hand slipped from the cup, leaving a trail in the beads of condensation, four slashes clean through the water droplets. The song that had been playing in the background petered out, and a new one started up. The new song was a different genre than it should have been. Still indie, but something a little darker than the typical cafe tune. 

Chastened, feeling sorry for so clearly pushing a near-stranger’s boundaries, Jungwoo relented.

“Okay,” he said, gently, using as soothing a tone as he could muster “forget I said anything. How about you ask me some questions now?”

Donghyuck’s eyes snapped to Jungwoo. He fiddled with his hoodie sleeves, tugging the oversized fabric over his hands until just the tips of his fingers were visible.

“I think I’m good, actually.”

Jungwoo took a moment to process. He couldn’t keep up with Donghyuck’s shifting moods and whims. Surely he hadn’t been like this as an adolescent. Still regretful and more than a little confused, Jungwoo slowly nodded.

Donghyuck swept up and out of his chair. He donned his hood, plunging his face back into shadows, and raised up a peace sign at Jungwoo.

“Talk to you later, man.”

“A-anytime,” Jungwoo was frozen to his seat as he watched Donghyuck go. Before he left, Donghyuck threw his frappuccino out at the trash can by the door. He hadn’t even drunk half of it.

While still in the cafe, Jungwoo shot off a quick text to Doyoung.

 

_ to: doyoung _

_ when did teens get so angsty _

 

_ why are their lives so  _

_ complicated _

 

_ from: doyoung _

_ weren’t you literally a teen last year _

 

Jungwoo sighed. Doyoung, as always, was right. But that wasn’t the point. 

He feared he’d really scared Donghyuck, the poor boy. He’d just up and asked Donghyuck about his crush, out of nowhere. He deliberated, then shot off another couple texts before gathering his things and heading out the door.

 

_ to: Lee Donghyuck _

_ i didn’t get the chance to thank you  _

_ for answering my questions! _

 

_ it was really nice to meet you:))  _

_ i hope we can hang out again soon _

 

✥ ✥ ✥

 

Lucas and Jungwoo had a longstanding Friday night tradition, established within the first month Jungwoo was away attending college. Doyoung was scheduled to drive the college’s drunk shuttle on Fridays, leaving the apartment to Jungwoo. Lucas had taken to showing up outside Jungwoo’s apartment door as soon as he beat the rush hour traffic. convenience store snacks in tow.

Jungwoo would make popcorn and Lucas would magically find a perfect HD file of some movie that Jungwoo would swear had only been released in theatres the week prior. They’d watch the movie and, more often than not, end up talking through it, sharing everything that’d occurred in the week they’d spent apart. 

Their movie night tradition was how they coped, what with Jungwoo in college and suddenly not at Lucas's side anymore. It wasn’t the same as seeing each other every day and eating lunch together and studying for classes together after school, but it was what they had.

Jungwoo was worried how Lucas might react if he discovered Jungwoo had meddled in his love life by contacting Donghyuck, but not worried enough to put a hold on movie night. He attempted to do something special, an apologetic gesture for a transgression that Lucas wasn’t aware of. Jungwoo tried, for the first time, to bake cookies for movie night.

By the time Lucas showed up, the apartment smelled of burnt sugar and singed chocolate.

Lucas walked in through the front door as Jungwoo was struggling to remove the pan from the oven. Lucas had long dispensed with such formalities as announcing himself or, perhaps, knocking before entering.

“Lucas!” Jungwoo greeted, startled. 

He made an aborted movement to wave, then remembered he was holding a tray of piping hot cookies, taken straight from the oven. The cookies slid across the length of the tray, a couple abandoning ship and falling with sad thumps onto the kitchen tiles.

“Oh, dear,” Jungwoo said, as he tried to right the tray without burning himself.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Lucas's voice sounded out from the front door, loud and urgent. 

He dropped off his plastic bags by the front door and dashed to the kitchen. Carefully, Lucas took the tray from Jungwoo’s shaking hands, grabbing it by the hot pads. As he took it out of Jungwoo’s hold, Lucas's hands first clasped over Jungwoo’s before he adjusted his grip. 

Jungwoo quickly snatched his hands away. The heat at his palms from the oven-hot tray had nothing on the burning feeling at the back of his hands from Lucas's touch. 

Jungwoo stared at his hands, turning them over to see if they were seared, red. No, they looked fine. He frowned, disliking that there was no physical evidence of the strange heated sensation when he could still feel the skin there tingling.

“You made cookies?” Lucas asked, drawing Jungwoo’s attention away from his hands.

Jungwoo pressed his lips into a thin line. The smoldering blackened rocks on the tray could hardly be classified as cookies.

“I  _ tried  _ to.”

With a sigh, Jungwoo began to untie the apron he was wearing. He’d found it in their kitchen, tucked away behind the coffee maker. He was sure it wasn’t one of Doyoung’s-- he doesn’t recall ever seeing Doyoung cook anything that didn’t make use of a microwave. But before the Cookie Fiasco had begun, he’d offered up a quick Thank You to whichever of Doyoung’s friends had left it in their apartment.

Lucas stepped forward, into Jungwoo’s space. He reached ahead, making Jungwoo freeze, wondering just what on Earth Lucas was doing. His questions were answered seconds later when Lucas's hands enclosed on the apron’s top tie. Lucas's knuckles brushed up against the nape of Jungwoo’s neck, sending shivers down his spine originating from the point of contact between them.

Lucas took Jungwoo’s apron off for him, and it was a good thing he did, because Lucas's proximity seemed to have paralyzed him.

“Why? What’s the special occasion?” 

Lucas didn’t seem to know anything about Jungwoo’s meetup with Donghyuck. He had his broad, unsuspecting grin on his face.

Rediscovering his agency when Lucas looked away to fold the apron, Jungwoo cleared his throat.

“No special occasion.”

Lucas handed the apron back to Jungwoo, folded, and Jungwoo made sure to take ahold of it carefully. He didn’t want a repeat of handing off the tray to Lucas, had no desire to feel that strange, inexplicable heated sensation to return.

“If this is because you feel bad about Mark friendzoning me--.,” Lucas began, his grin dimming.

“It’s not! And I’m still not sure that’s what he was doing.” 

Jungwoo rushed to reassure him. It didn’t have as much a positive effect as he’d tried for-- Lucas's grin returned, but something about it was off. It was bitter, wry-- an unusual look on Lucas. 

“It’s no sweat, really. I’m kinda used to it at this point.”

Jungwoo paused, brought to a stop by Lucas's last sentence. He searched his mind. He knew Lucas better than he knew anyone else, but he had no idea why Lucas would say he was used to being friendzoned. It didn’t sit right with him, not knowing the explanation to something that was clearly weighing on Lucas. 

Still, he wouldn’t push Lucas into talking about it. He trusted Lucas to know he could always come to Jungwoo if he was in need of someone to talk to.

“If you say so. Oh!” Jungwoo clapped his hands together, pushing his consternation to the back of his mind, “What movie are we watching today?”

 

Lucas insisted upon taking a plateful of the singed cookies with him to the couch. Jungwoo refused to touch them, content to nibble on the candy Lucas had picked up from the seven-eleven. Lucas, on the other hand, ate no less than three of them. 

“These really aren’t that bad,” Lucas insisted, spraying overcooked crumbs out of his mouth and all over himself and the couch. 

Jungwoo giggled. He could tell when Lucas was lying, and Lucas knew he could tell, as well. But Lucas had still eaten his overcooked cookies just to spare his feelings, when he clearly hated them.

Jungwoo reached forward from his spot at Lucas's side to brush off the crumbs that had landed on Lucas's lap.

“One of these days you’ll learn not to talk with your mouth open,” he mused, softening his words by sending a smile Lucas's way.

Lucas was looking at him oddly, all perplexed, like Jungwoo was one of his hot pockets. Jungwoo realized his hand was over-warm, still on Lucas's thigh. He quickly removed it, under the pretense of refocusing on the movie. 

“Wha! Is that robot fighting godzilla?”

Lucas snorted, and the odd moment between them passed. The only memory of it at all was Jungwoo’s heated cheeks.

“Dude, that’s a kaiju. And the robot’s a jaegar. Have you been paying attention at all?”

Jungwoo shrugged, hoping beyond hope that Lucas couldn’t see his the color on his cheeks in the dark of the living room. He didn’t even know why he was blushing. 

One thing was for sure-- he’d made Lucas uncomfortable just then, when he’d brushed the crumbs off his lap. Jungwoo hadn’t even thought before doing it, it’d just seemed natural to him. But had he crossed a boundary? Maybe Lucas wasn’t comfortable with Jungwoo being so touchy with him anymore, now that he’d set his sights on securing Mark. 

Jungwoo’s cheeks grew even hotter. Without meaning to, it seemed he’d only added to the confusion surrounding Lucas and Mark. And Donghyuck, he supposed. 

Jungwoo nestled closer to Lucas's side, craving the solidity and warmth offered there, now that his thoughts were so untethered. Wordlessly, Lucas lifted his arm, allowing Jungwoo to lean in further. He dropped his arm around Jungwoo’s shoulder, pulling him in tight.

Jungwoo made a soft noise of surprise. He hadn’t expected Lucas to cuddle him tonight, of all nights (because that’s Lucas was doing, right? that’s the only thing it could be termed as). It went unnoticed under Lucas's overjoyed hoot as a woman with cropped black hair and an umbrella appeared onscreen.

He pointed with the arm that wasn’t wrapped around Jungwoo’s shoulders.

“That’s Mako! Spoiler alert-- Raleigh and her are drift compatible.”

“Huh?” 

Lucas laughed, “You’re so spaced-out tonight! She’s like…,” he paused, searching for a way to describe the woman, “... she’s Raleigh’s Jungwoo.”

Jungwoo realized, with a stuttering heartbeat, that  _ that  _ clarified nothing. His list of unanswered questions seemed to be growing at an ever increasing pace. He didn’t know what Lucas meant to Mark. Jungwoo didn’t know what he meant to Lucas. He didn’t know how he and Donghyuck fit into the puzzle that was Lucas and Mark’s prom date, or if they fit in at all.

  
  
  


In the end, Jungwoo was forced to do what he probably should have done at the outset of his answer-seeking journey.

On Saturday morning, he scrolled through his contacts until he found the name of the boy at the center of it all.

“Mark?... Can we go get boba?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ao3 you're really cramping my style by not letting me use emojis in this fic... just so y'all know, each contact name had an emoji by it. RIP jungwoo's little sushi emoji for lucas.
> 
> as always, kudos and comments are appreciated!

Jungwoo hadn’t thought it possible, but Mark had somehow picked up even more extracurricular activities in his senior year of high school. It took awhile to hash out a time they could meet up that worked for Mark. He was kept busy between his tutoring sessions, his baseball practices, his club meetings, and now, apparently, his band practice. Mark had gone and formed a band in the closing months of his senior year.

“We’re calling ourselves Dream. ‘Cause like…,” Mark chewed thoughtfully on a tapioca pearl, “...we’re trying to embody our generation’s hopes and dreams.”

“Ah. That’s a very noble aspiration.” 

Jungwoo didn’t voice his thought that ‘Dream’ alone, as a name, was perhaps too simplistic. Another word used in addition to Dream might make their group easier to find on search engines.

“What kind of music do you guys make?”

“Uh. So far we only have a song about gum. It’s kinda.. pop?”

Jungwoo eyes drifted up to some point above Mark’s head, as he tried to connect gum to a generation’s hopes and dreams. He shrugged, eventually giving up and deciding he’d likely be able to find the connection if he ever heard the song performed in its entirety.

“That’s really cool, Mark.”

“Yeah!” Mark took another sip of his boba, “me and Hyuck-- Hyuck’s our lead singer, he’s got an amazing voice--  we’re working on a new one together. It’s about a boy’s first love? It’s going great.” 

Mark’s eyes were shining, sparkling as he talked about he and his bandmate’s new song. Jungwoo had never seen that expression on him before. Then, the sheen in his eyes dimmed almost imperceptibly. Mark looked down, to his drink, and played with the straw. In a quieter tone he added, “Hyuck’s really creative. I don’t know where he gets his ideas for his lyrics.”

If Mark’s ‘Hyuck’ was Donghyuck… Jungwoo winced. He had a bit of an idea where Donghyuck’s lyrical inspiration came from. Or, rather, who.

Sobered, and reminded by the mention of Donghyuck of why he’d needed to meet with Mark so urgently, Jungwoo regretfully changed the subject. 

“So… I heard you and Lucas are going to prom together?” 

Jungwoo eyed Mark carefully over his drink, searching for any glimmer of a reaction to the mention of Lucas and prom. He didn’t need to look hard. Mark froze, poised to take another sip. He lowered his cup instead, then swallowed, his Adam’s Apple bobbing up and down. 

“He told you?”

Jungwoo nodded, hesitant. He hadn’t meant to make Mark nervous or scared, but it appeared that’s exactly what he’d done.

“I promise we’re just going as friends,” Mark said, in a rush. 

And Jungwoo felt awful, for the feeling of relief that flooded him. He couldn’t explain it, not when he had no business being relieved at all. Lucas liked Mark. Mark’s quick assurance that their prom date was platonic was bad news for Lucas. It should have been as simple as that. But Jungwoo had to go and get his feelings all tangled up.

He sighed. He had one last question he had to ask Mark. 

“Mark, Do you like Lucas?”

Jungwoo got a sense of deja vu. Only the other day, he’d been seated across another high school boy, a pair of drinks between them, asking a very similar question. That day, Donghyuck had answered no.

“Yes?”

Jungwoo felt the oddest sensation. It was like his heart was one of those elevator rides they had in amusement parks, the ones that went up, up, up, then dropped suddenly, without warning. He felt like his had heart dropped about the height of one of those rides-- Jungwoo reached up to press his palm to his chest, to ensure his heart was in the right place. 

“Oh,” he said, because it was all he could say. This was good, right? For Lucas. The boy he liked liked him back.

Mark’s reached forward suddenly to clasp onto Jungwoo’s shoulder. He shook it, gently, eyes wide with concern.

“Shit, Jungwoo. I like Lucas _as a friend_. I don’t like him like that.”

Jungwoo felt heat flood into his cheeks once more. He’d been so transparent-- Mark had seen right through his distress and had rushed to comfort him. 

Jungwoo once again felt that bittersweet relief, secure in the knowledge that Mark felt nothing but platonic feelings for Lucas. But Jungwoo’s relief came at the expense of Lucas's hope for happiness.

“Oh, dear.”

 

✥ ✥ ✥

 

“....so, to sum it up: Lucas asked Mark to prom and Mark said yes  _ but _ he doesn’t like Lucas, not like Lucas likes him, and Donghyuck is upset because Donghyuck likes Mark and I  _ think _ there’s a non-zero chance Mark likes him back. And also I don’t know how to tell Lucas that he doesn’t have a chance with Mark and I don’t know how to stop feeling guilty about feeling relieved about that.”

Doyoung blinked, slowly. He raised his steaming mug of coffee to his lips, slowly. He took a long sip, slowly. Jungwoo watched him impatiently, holding his breath. Doyoung opened his mouth. Then he closed it, frowning. Then, at just about the precise moment when Jungwoo felt he was to burst, Doyoung opened his mouth again.

“You and Lucas aren’t dating?” he asked.

Jungwoo choked on air.

“No, we definitely aren’t.”

“Ah,” Doyoung stared pensievely at Jungwoo, “but every Friday night when I get back from working the drunk shuttle, you two are always tangled up on the couch together.”

Jungwoo lifted his hands up to conceal his cheeks the instant he felt heat rising in them, sure they’d be flushed soon enough. Doyoung was wrong. They weren’t tangled up on the couch… they were just. Seated close together. Sometimes Lucas put his arm around Jungwoo. But it didn’t mean anything, and it certainly didn’t mean they were dating.

“Don’t say it like that! It sounds so suggestive.”

“It was meant to,” Doyoung said, tone level.

“Oh my God.” 

Jungwoo shifted his hands so that they were concealing his whole face. He slumped forward in his seat. He was getting nowhere. Maybe he should just give up on intervening, anyways. Now, he knew he was biased. Jungwoo liked Lucas, he couldn’t trust himself to act selflessly in Lucas's best interests. 

“Hey,” Doyoung’s voice was louder, its owner closer. 

Doyoung peeled one of Jungwoo’s hands from his face, then the other. Doyoung peered at him, eyes wide. Jungwoo stared helplessly back, waiting for a word of wisdom, any piece of advice that could aid him in alleviating the mess he’d gotten himself into.

“If you ask me,” Doyoung began, and for once, his voice lacked any note of sarcasm. At that moment, he sounded completely sincere, “Okay, granted, I haven’t seen how Lucas acts around Mark. But from what I’ve seen, he’s head over heels for you.”

It seemed too good to be true. Doyoung’s words were exactly what Jungwoo wanted to hear, so much so it made him suspicious of them. Jungwoo shook his head, as if the physical action could rid him of thoughts of what might transpire in the event that Lucas did return his feelings. 

“He likes Mark, not me. He asked Mark to prom,” Jungwoo stubbornly insisted. He didn’t know if he was reminding Doyoung or himself. 

“Well, he couldn’t very well ask you, now could he?”

“He could have, if he wanted.” Jungwoo said, soft, a confession. 

He twisted his hands in his lap. He didn’t even know why he was indulging Doyoung in this, not when it meant getting his own hopes up for nothing.

“Did Lucas know that?”

Jungwoo’s eyes raised from his hands in his lap to meet Doyoung’s gaze. He shook his head. No, there was no way Lucas knew how Jungwoo felt about him. He hadn’t realized himself until far too late. 

Jungwoo took a shaky breath.

“I have to talk to him, don’t I?” 

Jungwoo didn’t want to burden Lucas with his feelings, not when Lucas was already hung up on Mark. But he couldn’t imagine going back to their norm now. He couldn’t imagine being able to let himself sit in Lucas's arms, watch a movie with him, and pretend like everything was alright on his side. Not when, at any moment, Jungwoo felt like his confession was on the tip of his tongue, about to spill from his lips.

 

_ to: lucas  _

_ hey can we talk? _

_ like _

_ in person _

 

_ from: lucas  _

_ ya lol i think we need to _

 

Jungwoo stared at his phone screen, at the tiny font in the gray bubble. He stared until the pixels lost attached meaning. It didn’t save him from thinking of the message, though, and what it could mean. Jungwoo hadn’t anticipated Lucas having something to discuss with him as well.

Immediately, illogically, his mind jumped to the thought that Lucas had somehow discovered Jungwoo’s crush on him at precisely the moment Jungwoo himself had found out. They’d always been on the same wavelength, but that would be taking it to a whole new level. 

Realizing how unlikely that was, Jungwoo landed on another, alternate theory. It was worse. Maybe Lucas had found out about him interfering with Lucas's love life, about Jungwoo’s clandestine meetings with Donghyuck and Mark. 

Jungwoo took measured breaths, carefully pacing his inhales and exhales. He couldn’t glean any tone from Lucas's message, as casual as it had seemed. He had no idea whether Lucas was mad with him or not, or whether he’d even found out about Jungwoo’s meddling.

 

_ to: lucas  _

_ oh! wow _

_ okay when are you free? _

_ :) _

 

_ from: lucas  _

_ now? can i come over _

 

Jungwoo almost dropped his phone. He cursed, drawing Doyoung’s attention. He looked up at Jungwoo from where he sat, studying at the kitchen table. Jungwoo waved him off, weakly.

“I’m fine! Just clumsy.”

Doyoung nodded, though he eyed Jungwoo with suspicion. He eventually returned to his work, leaving Jungwoo to type out a reply.

 

_ to: lucas  _

_ sure! _

 

_ from: lucas  _

_ good lol im already omw _

 

A noise escaped from Jungwoo which sounded not unlike a squeak. Doyoung set his pen down, firmly.

“Jungwoo, are you sure you’re okay?”

And Jungwoo didn’t quite know how to answer Doyoung’s question. He could only nod. Then stop nodding. Then shake his head. Lucas was on his way. And they were going to talk.

 

Jungwoo met Lucas outside of his apartment complex. He didn’t want to explain to Doyoung why Lucas was coming over at nine on a Tuesday night, nor did he want Doyoung to bear witness to Lucas confronting Jungwoo about his interfering. 

When Jungwoo stepped outside the his building’s front door, Lucas was already there, waiting by a struggling streetlamp. He wasn’t dressed right for the weather-- it was still in the early days of spring. The nights were still cold, and Lucas only had on a t-shirt. Jungwoo hoped he hadn’t been waiting too long.

When Lucas spotted Jungwoo, he broke out into a grin. Jungwoo stumbled as he walked. Lucas didn’t look mad at all. If anything, he seemed as happy as he always was to see Jungwoo.

Lucas lifted his hand, and Jungwoo noticed the plastic bag with a seven-eleven logo emblazoned on the side.

“I know it’s not movie night, but I brought snacks anyway,” Lucas scratched the back of his head, mussing up his hair, “I hope that’s alright.”

Jungwoo stepped forward, forgetting himself, to fix Lucas's hair and set the tousled bits in place. In the flickering light of the street lamp, all of Lucas's flyaway hairs glowed yellow, like an irregular golden aura about his head. 

Then Jungwoo remembered he shouldn’t be doing things like this anymore, not while he still harbored secret feelings for Lucas, and especially not while Lucas liked Mark. 

Jungwoo stepped back, plastering a smile on his face, “Sorry. And, of course! What did you bring?”

“Uh,” Lucas was giving him that odd look again, the same one from when Jungwoo had brushed the burnt cookie crumbs off him, “Chocolate.”

Jungwoo paused. But it didn’t mean anything, he reminded himself. Lucas likely didn’t put any thought into the snacks he bought, not for Jungwoo.

“Do you want to go for a walk? Warm ourselves up a bit?” Jungwoo asked, changing the subject.

Lucas agreed, though he protested Jungwoo’s reasoning, “I’m not even cold!”

“I’m sure,” Jungwoo smiled. 

Even though he was sad for their friendship, that it would never be the same after his confession, Jungwoo hoped Lucas would stay close with him. He wanted Lucas in his life, in any capacity, friend or otherwise. He’d take anything he could get.

Lucas unveiled the snacks as they started walking down the street. He’d brought Jungwoo’s favorite-- peanut M&M’s, but also a bag of pomegranate flavored dark chocolate. 

Plucking the latter bag out from Lucas's hands, Jungwoo shot him a confused look. It was a new type of chocolate-- one that lay well outside their tried and true convenience store go-tos. Lucas shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged, eyes flitting from Jungwoo to the sidewalk ahead.

“I couldn’t choose. They seemed… fancy?”

Jungwoo tried one. He hummed in delight. 

“They’re delicious,” he handed a couple to Lucas, for him to try as well. A nagging thought drove him to ask, “But why did you want to buy fancy chocolates?”

“Because--,” Lucas stopped walking. He scrubbed his hand over his face. The atmosphere shifted from something tentatively approaching their normal comfortable conversation to something heavier, weighed down and fraught. 

“I talked to Mark,” Lucas said, finally breaking the moment of silence. It seemed as if he was about to say something more. 

But he didn’t. Jungwoo’s worries, forgotten upon spotting Lucas's grin under the flickering streetlamp, suddenly reappeared. 

If Lucas had talked with Mark… that could mean several things. Mark could’ve told him about Jungwoo’s weird meetups with he and Donghyuck. Mark could’ve changed his mind about Lucas, and decided he wanted to pursue a romance with Lucas after all. Both options didn’t spell great things for Jungwoo.

“Oh,” Jungwoo said, as tonelessly as he could manage.

“He-- he made me realize a couple things,” Lucas's eyes lifted to Jungwoo’s. A car drove past them in the night, its headlights briefly illuminating Lucas's face in pale blue hues. 

“One of them was that life’s too short to leave things unsaid just because you’re afraid of what speaking up might mean. Y’know?”

Jungwoo nodded, in understanding with Lucas's nervous last couple words. Here it was. Lucas was going to chew him out for involving himself too much in Lucas's life, before Jungwoo even got the chance to apologize. Jungwoo hiked his shoulders high, preparing for the inevitable harsh tones. 

“I love you,” said Lucas, at the same exact moment Jungwoo blurted out, “I’m sorry.”

Jungwoo could scarcely believe his own hearing. In fact, he refused to believe it. It had sounded awfully like Lucas had just said he loved him, but that couldn’t be the case.

Jungwoo gaped at Lucas. Lucas bit his lower lip, his brows knitting together in evident confusion.

“Why are you apologizing?” he asked, voice low.

“For meddling with your prom date and harming your chances with Mark and wait,” Jungwoo took a deep breath and raised his hand, “I’m sorry, forgive me, but did you just say you  _ love _ me?” 

Lucas laughed, some of the tension seeping out of his shoulders.

“Oh my God, Jungwoo, I don’t care that you met up with Mark. Actually, after your conversation he was totally convinced you liked me back. So I’m kinda, like, thankful you ‘meddled’.” 

Lucas said the last word in an ironic tone, making it clear that he viewed Jungwoo’s actions in a different light.

“I--,” so Mark  _ had _ told on Jungwoo, in a way. 

“Was he wrong?” Lucas asked, cutting straight through Jungwoo’s cloud of confusion with a blunt question that begged only a simple yes or no answer.

Jungwoo shook his head, nerves seizing up on his throat and making it difficult to speak.

“N-no,” Jungwoo stuttered. 

Then, finding courage within himself he hadn’t known he still possessed, Jungwoo took a deep, stabilizing breath. He looked Lucas in the eye, and decided at once to speak from his heart, without worrying about sharing too much or revealing too much of himself. This was Lucas, Jungwoo reminded himself. He didn’t need to hide anything from him.

“No, he wasn’t wrong. I just-- I only just realized my feelings myself. I... realized that everytime something funny happens, I think to myself ‘I can’t wait to tell Lucas about this’. And everytime something hurts me, I realized that I think of telling you about it, of how you’ll make me laugh ‘til I forget why I was even feeling down to begin with. And how everytime you hold me in your arms, it feels like I’m home. No matter where I am. I  _ do _ like you, Lucas. I might even love you.”

It was scary, maintaining eye contact with Lucas while he poured his heart out, but Jungwoo managed it. He watched Lucas's expression shift and change as he spoke, Jungwoo’s words alone prompting the transformation. Lucas's grin, at first nervous and tremulous, went soft, diminishing into a small smile. His eyes crinkled up at the corners. His pupils shone, the yellow of the streetlamps glinting off them like candlelight. Lucas looked so stupidly fond, it made Jungwoo’s heart swell.

When Jungwoo had finished speaking, Lucas laughed, bright and clear and unburdened. 

“Can I kiss you?” he asked, suddenly, unmooring Jungwoo again.

“R-right now?” Jungwoo stuttered.

“Yes,” Lucas's eyes were flooded with warm light, “right now.”

Jungwoo’s eyes widened as Lucas moved in closer. Lucas's tongue poked out from between his lips, wetting his mouth. Jungwoo zeroed in the movement, on Lucas's lips, shiny and oh-so-inviting. 

His focus was so absolute, he forgot he was holding something. The bag of fancy pomegranate dark chocolate fell from Jungwoo’s hands, onto the pavement. The contents of the bag scattered everywhere, all over the sidewalk.

“Oh no,” Jungwoo moaned, “the fancy chocolates. I’m sorry.”

“I literally couldn’t give less of a shit about the chocolates,” Lucas said, his overjoyed smile lightening his words. 

Jungwoo had to smile too, as Lucas reached forward to wrap his arm around Jungwoo’s waist. His hand landed on the small of Jungwoo’s back. Jungwoo could feel Lucas's touch, searing, burning, through his sweater. 

“C’mere,” Lucas said, but he didn’t wait for Jungwoo to move. He pulled Jungwoo to him, prompting Jungwoo to emit a soft sound in his surprise.

Without thinking of anything other than maintaining his balance, Jungwoo reached forward to grab hold of Lucas's face. The soft skin at his hands, the slightest hint of stubble under his touch, was enough to make Jungwoo blush. Lucas was looking straight at him, fond and warm and a little amazed, like Jungwoo had hung the stars in the sky.

“Well, are you gonna kiss me or not?” Jungwoo asked, face heating further.

Lucas huffed a laugh, then pressed his lips to Jungwoo’s.  His lips were soft and plush. Jungwoo sighed against them. He’d never imagined even in his wildest dreams that he’d be able to experience this sensation, the feeling of Lucas's lips on his. 

At Jungwoo’s sigh, Lucas's hand tensed at Jungwoo’s back, his fingers splaying as he pulled Jungwoo in even closer. Jungwoo started when he first felt Lucas's tongue test his lips, the wet heat unexpected. But he relaxed, melting into Lucas's hold, his lips falling open. Lucas kissed greedily, like he had to feel it all, like he had to leave nothing of Jungwoo’s unexplored.

As Lucas licked into his mouth, Jungwoo gasped, his exhalation disappearing beyond Lucas’s lips. He tasted sweet, and rich, Jungwoo noted distantly. He tasted like the dark chocolate they’d shared. 

Wondering what Lucas tasted like normally, and if he’d get the chance to try and find out, Jungwoo shifted. He pushed back against Lucas, rocking off his heels to deepen their kiss. 

Finally, Lucas pulled back, panting, looking dazed. Jungwoo was breathing heavily too.

“That was…” Jungwoo said, but he couldn’t do the moment justice with words.

Luckily, he’d shared the moment with Lucas, so he didn’t need to.

“Yeah, I know.”

Jungwoo stared at Lucas, transfixed by how he looked at that moment in time. He couldn’t stop looking at Lucas’s flushed cheeks, at how he glowed golden under the yellow lights. At his lips, pink and just barely parted at he caught his breath. At his eyes, shining. Lucas was Jungwoo’s best friend, and they’d just kissed.

Jungwoo’s hands dropped from Lucas's face, as he realized with a hot shock of embarrassment exactly the location of their first kiss. He wrapped his arms around the back of Lucas's neck and buried his face in Lucas's chest, his cheeks burning.

“Oh my God, we just made out in the street.”

“Huh?” Jungwoo raised his head, facing Lucas head-on despite his flushed cheeks. Lucas's dazed look faded, a slow smirk lazily spreading across his face, “Oh, yeah, I guess we kinda did. Wanna do it again?”

At Jungwoo’s sharp look, Lucas laughed sheepishly, “Only kidding.”

“No, you weren’t.”

Lucas laughed again, this time shamelessly. The sound of it was music to Jungwoo’s ears.

“You’re right, I wasn’t.”

After a mere moment’s deliberation, Jungwoo extricated himself from Lucas's hold. Before Lucas's smile dimmed, he quickly grasped Lucas’s hand.

“Come on. We’re going to my apartment.”

“Oh?” 

Jungwoo didn’t need to look back to know Lucas had a shit-eating grin on his face. He could hear it in his voice.

“Yes. And please behave yourself in front of Doyoung. I don’t want him getting anymore ideas about us.”

 

✥ ✥ ✥

 

Sometime later, maybe hours, Jungwoo crept out of his bedroom to get water. His lips were tingling and, he was sure if he looked in a mirror they’d look much the same as Lucas's did-- flushed, and pink, and kiss-swollen. They hadn’t gone much further beyond what they had in the street. They were content with just making out and repeating their confessions from earlier in soft tones, intermittently interrupting themselves with random outbursts of giggles, half-giddy, half-shocked. It wasn’t every day you found out your best friend loved you back. 

Jungwoo winced when he spotted Doyoung still at work seated at the kitchen table. He gave a minute wave, trying to gauge how much Doyoung had overheard from he and Lucas. Their apartment walls were paper-thin.

Doyoung barely looked up from his papers, eyes unreadable. He pointed wordlessly at an ear, and it was then that Jungwoo noticed the headphones he was wearing. Jungwoo laughed, simultaneously guilty and relieved, as Doyoung lifted a solemn thumbs-up before looking back down and putting pen to paper once more. 

It seemed that, for once, Jungwoo’s roommate wasn’t going to nag him.

 

Jungwoo paused at his bedroom door, hand chilled from the cool glass within it. Even though Doyoung had let Jungwoo’s decision to kiss Lucas pass without comment, Jungwoo suddenly couldn’t quiet his own intruding thoughts. As happy as he was, guilt seized upon him. 

Jungwoo stepped inside, hesitating, placing the glass of water carefully at his bedside table. He paused as he reached his bed, one knee already raised, depressing the mattress. He was brought to paralysis at the sight of Lucas lying down across his bed, looking like an odd fit. Lucas’s clothes, his simple t shirt and trackpants, served a stark contrast to Jungwoo’s fleur-de-lis patterned sheets. 

Lucas noticed something was off. Of course he did. The corners of Lucas's mouth dipped down, as he frowned.

“What’s wrong?”

Jungwoo looked down at his bed. The sheets were all messed up, rumpled from the number of times he and Lucas had switched positions before they’d finally decided on lying side by side as they made out, facing each other like a pair of parentheses.

“What are you doing about prom?” Jungwoo asked, getting out with it already. When Lucas didn’t respond immediately, Jungwoo blurted out, “You could still… it’s fine by me if you’re still going with Mark. I just. I hope you aren’t feeling as sad now, about the fact that the two of you are just going as friends.”

“Jungwoo,” the sound of his name falling from Lucas's lips dragged Jungwoo’s eyes back up from the rumpled sheets. Lucas was looking at him, eyes imploring, hand reached out, “Mark and I aren’t going to prom together-- at all.”

“You’re not?”

“No.”

Jungwoo lifted his hand, hesitantly placed it in Lucas's. Lucas pulled him forward, yanking him onto the bed and on top of Lucas. Jungwoo fell with Lucas’s pull, his free hand landing right by Lucas's head, his knees bracketing Lucas's thigh. Startled, Jungwoo stared wide-eyed down at Lucas.

“He said he wasn’t going to help me with my ‘denial’ anymore. Can you believe that?”

Lucas snorted. Jungwoo nodded, jerkily, still caught up on the heat emanating out from Lucas's thigh. He made a vague mental note to send a thank you text to Mark, or something, later. 

Lucas blinked up at him, eyes glinting, “So now, I guess I have to find another prom date.”

A smile inched across Jungwoo’s face as he caught on to what Lucas was hinting at. He hummed, as if deep in thought.

“You know what? I have just the guy in mind.”

“Oh, do you?” Lucas asked, abruptly abandoning their interplay. 

His smirk looked to be in imminent danger of making a reappearance, so Jungwoo quickly leaned down to press their lips together, smothering the smirk before it showed up. 

 

✥ ✥ ✥

 

Days later, halfway through the sequel to the robot movie they’d watched the week prior, Jungwoo’s phone lit up with an alert. Lucas had to remove his arm from where it lay wrapped around Jungwoo’s shoulder to reach for it, prompting a disappointed huff from Jungwoo.

“What is it?” he asked, impatient for Lucas's arm to be back in its rightful place around him.

Lucas looked up at him from the phone screen, eyes wide.

“Why did  _ Lee Donghyuck  _ just text you?”

“Oh my God,” Jungwoo reached for the phone, snatching it out of Lucas's hands. Donghyuck hadn’t ever texted him back, after that time they met up in the cafe. Jungwoo was just about as curious as Lucas was. Well, almost just as curious.

“I’ll explain in a moment,” Jungwoo assured Lucas. And he would. No more secrets between them. 

Jungwoo opened his messages.

 

_ from: Lee Donghyuck  _

_ idk if this is ur doing but like _

 

_ thanks jungwoo _

 

_ you’re alright i guess _

 

Jungwoo stared at the texts, uncomprehending.  

“Ominous,” Lucas said, reading over his shoulder.

Jungwoo shivered, “Yeah. I have no idea what that’s about.”

They shared a glance. Jungwoo sucked in his lower lip, anticipation high for whatever questions Lucas had for him regarding his sudden acquaintance with Lee Donghyuck. Lucas opened his mouth to speak, and was interrupted by the text alert of his own phone going off. He frowned, lifted up a single finger as if to say ‘pause. we’re coming back to this conversation’, then looked at his own phone.

Lucas’s eyes went wide with surprise as he read the text he’d received. Then, he laughed, the sound loud and exuberant and right at Jungwoo’s ears from where he lay against Lucas’s chest.

“What happened?” Jungwoo asked, though he was already smiling in anticipation.

“Here,” Lucas said, pressing his phone into Jungwoo’s hand, “do you think those texts and these ones are connected?”

Jungwoo read. Once he’d finished, he had to laugh too.

 

_ from: mark lee  _

_ hey lucas! _

_ would u and jungwoo want to  _

_ come to prom in a group  _

_ with my date and me? _

 

_ i think hyuck and jungwoo  _

_ will get along great _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all might have already caught this but that song hyuck was writing? it's my first and last


End file.
